‘If an English team, why not an English Parliament?’

In the Telegraph, Allister Heath almost repeats our sticker from long ago: ‘If an English team, why not an English Parliament?’ He writes:

But this new, inclusive and perhaps in time more assertive – Englishness does reflect how the union has changed and must evolve further. The old centralised model died in 1997; we are now in an irrational halfway house where Scottish MPs have a say on English issues but the English don’t have a say on Scottish ones. The UK will need to become a full federation, binding together the English, Welsh. Scottish and Northern Irish.

We are becoming more like the US, Canada or Australia; our national identities are now best seen as an idea and citizenship as a club that is relatively easy to join, as long as certain rules are adhered to and conditions met. Ethnicity no longer enters into it, so there is no reason for the middle classes and the political Left [They are ahead of you, Allister!] to feel embarrassed by displays of patriotism. In fact, we should celebrate our rediscovering Englishness more. The occasional football tournament is not enough: we need to become flag-wavers all year around.